Long Hours
by Zevnen
Summary: Sequel to "Changing Fate". Kouji becomes ill, but is unwilling to admit it. Can Yuki help him, having so many doubts about herself? Can both of them make it through a tragedy that springs out of nowhere? KoujiOC
1. Chapter One

Long Hours

Chapter One

By _ShinobiWolf_

            Yuki awoke to the beeping of her alarm clock. She sleepily turned it off and got out of her bed, thankful that she had gotten a new one. (The old alarm clock had a terribly loud buzzer and began to get on Yuki's nerves. Thus she "made it broken.") She slipped on her school uniform and brushed her long, white hair, pulling it into a loose braid when she was done. She packed her bathing suit and a towel into her book bag before going to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Once she was done, she went to the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat.

            "Now when are you going to be back again?" Mrs. Hiramana asked, as she cleaned up her own breakfast dishes.

            "Between five and six."

            "Alright. Be sure to put on enough sunscreen, you know how easily you burn."

            "I'll be alright." She said goodbye to her mom and left her apartment. On her way down, she met up with Kimura Kouichi, her classmate and best friend who lived in the same building as her. They walked to school together every morning.

            The clock struck one during fifth period. Kouji copied down the equation from the board.

            _F of x is equal to negative b plus or minus the square root of…_

            He had to admit, he hated this chapter. It's not like it was hard, it was just, well, _long_. He did average at this class. Pretty much everyone was like that, except for Takuya. Was he above average? Well, to put it this way, he was currently zoned out and unintentionally drooling on his Algebra book. Kouji shook his head at the goggle-brain; he had gotten in trouble so many times for wearing his goggles to class, yet he still continued to wear them.

            Kouji tapped his pencil in anticipation. There were public pools a short way away from the school. It was nearly summer and the extreme heat wave urged the manager to open them early. That's where he and the others were going after school. 

            The others… The others were his brother Kouichi, Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki, and Yuki. They all had the ability to transform into Digimon, and had saved the Digital World more than once. They had never told anyone about it, not even their own parents. Of course, who would believe them anyway?

            Yuki stared down at the crystal clear water, at her reflection. At her light face and hair, and at her unnatural, violet eyes. Everything about her was unnatural. She shivered as she recalled a phrase that was said to her, ever so long ago. It was a phrase that haunted her nearly every minute of her life.

                        _"…created you out of empty darkness…you're nothing more than that…"_

            She calmly swished her hand through the water, shattering the reflection that she hated so much.

            "Not in yet?" Kouichi stood behind her. Yuki looked up at him. He and his brother were the closest friends that she had. Kouichi was the only one who she had told her secret.

            "No."

            Kouichi thought to himself. He knew exactly what that look in her eyes meant; he knew exactly what she was thinking. He also knew exactly what would keep her mind off of that subject. "Would you… **like** to go swimming right now?"

            "Maybe…" Yuki stopped stirring the water, her eyes widening as she gasped. She knew the all-too-friendly tone of voice.

            In the next moment she bit water. She fought to the surface, and when she stood, the water reached to her shoulders. And she stood stiffly; the water was absolutely _freezing_. Kouichi was kneeling by the edge, pleasantly smiling at her. She was cold, wet, and Kouichi's smirk didn't help matters at all.

            "Enjoying your swim?" He shouldn't have been kneeling so close to the water's edge.

            "Oh, you turd!" Yuki forcefully wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into the pool screaming. She held him under the surface for a moment before letting him back up for air. At first Yuki was a bit PO'ed, but she had to laugh just a little bit when she saw that Kouichi was mostly blinded by the black mop of wet hair that clung to his face. They were both quickly lost in a storm of splashing water and laughter. 

            Kouji watched them from the other end of the pool, well, mostly he was watching Yuki. And without his knowing it, he absent-mindedly smiled. Perhaps, for a bit too long.

            "Oh, Kouji…"

            "Huh…wah?"

            "It looks like Kouji's interested in something other than swimming right now…" Takuya's voice was sly.

            "I have no idea what you're talking about." Kouji denied, although his cheeks were the slightest shade of pink.

            "I tell you what… I'll forget all about your 'whimsical gazing' at Yuki… **if** you can beat me in a race. From this end of the pool to the other."

            Kouji accepted Takuya's challenge, and positioned himself at the end of the pool. Takuya did the same, and fixed his goggles in front of his eyes. Izumi swam to the side.

            "On your marks, get set… " She raised her arm. "…Go!" She threw her arm down to signify the start of the race. Both kicked through the water with all of their might, but in the end, Kouji had reached the end first. Takuya removed his goggles with disappointment.

            "Fine… I'll forget everything…"

            "Yeah, you do that. It shouldn't be too hard." Kouji swam for the ladder. Takuya took a moment to process what Kouji had just said.

            "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

            "It means exactly what I said." Kouji went to pull himself out, but slipped back into the water.

            "Not quite graceful today, now are we?"

            "Ah, shut up." Kouji successfully pulled himself out of the pool, and pulled his towel out of his bag. He paused as he dried off his face. He was so tired, more so than he should have been. But he hadn't been swimming since last summer, so that could have explained why. He shrugged it off, but relaxing on a beach chair seemed very appealing to him at that time.

            Later on, Kouichi and Yuki were walking home to their apartment building. It was nearly six and their parents were expecting them back any minute now. They stopped on the floor Yuki's apartment was on, one level above  Kouichi's. She hesitated before reaching for her door. She soon found that Kouichi had wrapped his free arm around her shoulders.

            "Yuki, listen… I know what's bothering you. If you ever need to talk to me, remember- I'm only a floor away." He smiled. " 'Kay?" His blue eyes were kind, and sweet. And his smile was contagious. He said goodnight and climbed the stairs to his floor. Yuki greeted her mother and went to bed.

            Yuki quit writing when she noticed that Kouji had fallen asleep on his notebook. She hoped the teacher wouldn't notice; he looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night. She went back to her work, but every now and then she would take a concerned glance.

            He was no better when it was time for lunch. He sat in the corner of the lunch room with Kouichi and Yuki, as he usually did. But after he had unwrapped his lunch, he only casually poked at it with his chopsticks. Kouichi paused before putting a piece of food into his mouth.

            "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, I'm fine." Kouji quit playing around with his food and began to actually eat it, although it made him nauseous to do so. And he never said a word the whole time. Kouichi and Yuki glanced worriedly at each other before eating their own food. They knew something was wrong, but they just couldn't get Kouji to admit to it. Every time Yuki had glanced with concern at Kouji, he only smiled and assured her that he was fine. But she could never get rid of that nagging feeling inside of her.

            And Kouichi knew for sure. Whether it was because of the elements they each possessed, or maybe because they were twins, Kouichi could tell that the younger twin was in pain. And whether it was emotional pain or physical, he worried for his brother.

            And he worried more when Kouji never showed up for class after lunch. Kouichi excused himself to look for his brother. He searched every hall on that floor, until he passed the boys' bathroom.

            He knew that his search was over. He pushed open the heavy bathroom door, and heard a single, muffled noise coming from one of the stalls. The stall door was left open, and the faint smell of vomit slightly stung at Kouichi's nose.

            "…Kouji?" He heard movement from inside the stall, and the toilet was flushed. When the door opened completely, Kouji stood there, face pale.

            "What?"

            The principle tapped thoughtfully on his desk as he studied the more pale of the twins sitting in his office. 

            "Well, you have to be taken home. Is there a parent that is available to pick you up?"

            Kouji hesitated.

            "…both of them work…"

            "Then I guess we'll have to contact one of them at work then."

            Kouji's face grew alarmed. He was miserable enough as it was, and he didn't want to drag either of his parents away from work just to run him home.

            "I can walk him home." Kouichi spoke up. "I can make up anything that I miss."

            "Are you well enough to walk, Minamoto?"

            Kouji nodded, secretly thankful to his brother.

            "All right, then. I'll call your parents anyway just so that they know you'll be home."

            Yuki looked with worry as the principle pulled the teacher to the side of the class. She was just within earshot.

            "Please excuse Kimura for being late, he's walking his brother home, who is in your class as well.

            "Kouji? So he won't be to class at all today?"

            "I'm afraid he probably won't be to class for a while. The poor boy looked like death…"

            Yuki closed her book. She couldn't stand to write anymore. Her heart just wasn't in it, not with Kouji so sick like that.


	2. Chapter Two

**Long Hours**  

Chapter 2

By _ShinobiWolf_

The end of the day finally came, but it just couldn't come fast enough for Yuki. Kouichi was needed at home, so Yuki had gotten together Kouji's homework to take to him.

            Yuki waited until his mother was home, and she let her right in. She knocked lightly at Kouji's door before going in; he was asleep, facing the door. She carefully placed his schoolbooks on his desk and knelt by his bedside, studying his sleeping face. He was pale, but he looked so peaceful while he was asleep. Before she had known it, she had gently moved a piece of stray, black hair from his face.

            Yuki hurriedly pulled back her hand, hoping that she hadn't woken him. Kouji never moved, but a small smile found its place at the corner of his mouth. Yuki blushed, wondering what he could have been dreaming about… He shivered, and she pulled the edge of his blanket tighter around his shoulders. She stood and turned to leave, but a quiet whisper made her stop.

            "…Yuki?"

            She went back to Kouji's bedside and sat on the edge of the bed. And sure enough, Kouji was awake, watching her with tired eyes. 

"Why didn't you tell us that you were sick?"

            Looking at her saddened eyes, he couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt. Even at his sincerest attempt, he had still made her worry. She looked to him, pleading. He played with the edge of his blanket. "…I get sick a lot… When I was little, I missed school all of the time, and it put me back a whole lot. All of my classmates thought that I was dumb, so I never wanted to miss school, and fall further behind. And it made me feel weak. I hate that feeling. I hate being sick so much…"

            Yuki could see the slightest tears at the corners of his eyes. She wasn't the only one with problems. She wanted to cry with him, but how could she tell him that technically, she wasn't a true person?

            He wiped away his tears, and silently cursed himself for crying, especially in front of a girl that he liked. But when he looked to her, he got a feeling. A feeling that something else was bothering her other than his being ill. He pulled up next to her, and she met his gaze with her own.

            He had the same caring eyes as Kouichi, yet why hadn't she told Kouji the same thing that she had told his brother? _It's because you like him…_ She told herself. Kouichi was her best friend; it was easy to talk to him. She tried to open her mouth and tell Kouji, but she could never quite find the right words to speak. Her uneasiness was evident in the nervous way that she gripped her blue jeans. Yuki just about died right then and there, when he put his arm around her shoulders.

            "…I may be ill, but I can still help…" He told her. "…I **want** to help."

            "…It's… about four years ago…"

            Kouji's face softened even more. Even now, the incident in the Digital World four years ago was a touchy subject for her.

            "Neolucemon told me that I had amnesia…that he found me that way…" She turned away from him. "He lied." She wiped away a stray tear with the palm of her hand. "He created me. Out of empty darkness. I couldn't remember my family, because I never had one to begin with…"

            "But I **still** love you. I don't care if some evil nut made you or not…"

            One particular word caught Yuki's attention. Kouji knew what that word was, and so he blushed a deep crimson. He had said 'love'. It seemed as though a massive weight had been lifted from Yuki's shoulders, and her face had the sweetest look of happiness. Maybe that's why, just a second later, he kissed her softly on her lips.

            Kouji watched Yuki leave from his upstairs window. He waved a silent good bye as she did the same, and walked on her way home.

            Kouji lazily opened his eyes. He groaned, as he heard the phone ringing. It did so for about ten times, before he heard his mother get up and run to answer it. He stared at the glowing screen of his clock and pulled his blanket over his head. He had slept less than he thought.

            "Kouji?" Mrs. Minamoto called from his doorway.

            "What…" 

            "Your brother is on the phone. He says that he really needs to speak to you, and he sounds upset…"

            Kouji sat up and took the phone.

            "Kouji? I'm sorry for calling you so late when you're so sick and all…"

            Kouji could hear it. The wavering catch in Kouichi's voice.

            "…I'm at the hospital…"

            "Are you okay?!"

            "Physically, yes… but… it's Yuki… She never came home, so we went out to look for her… her parents and I… then we got a call from the hospital, and… " Kouichi's voice cracked. "…Kouji… Yuki's been hit by a car…"        


	3. Chapter Three

**Long Hours**

Chapter 3 

By ShinobiWolf

                "I'm here with her parents. They haven't told us anything yet…"

            "Hold on, I'll be right there." Kouji hung up and dropped the phone beside himself on the bed. He felt like he was going to be sick again. He hoped that everything he had heard was just the delirium from his fever. But deep in his heart, he knew that it all wasn't a dream. He picked up the bucket from his bedside and was quietly sick for a minute. "Can you drive me to the hospital?"

            "What's wrong?"

            Kouji got up from his bed, and passed his mother on the way to the stairs.

            "…Kouji?"

            He wanted it to be a dream, as he tiredly looked to his mother. "Yuki was hit by a car…" He descended the steps without shedding a single tear. It was all just a dream.

            The car-ride there, waiting with Kouichi and Yuki's parents… It was all a part of one, long, nasty dream. The doctor came and got Yuki's parents. Then it seemed like ages until he came out again. Kouichi had to wake Kouji from a daydream when it was finally their turn. After a long walk, they stopped at the door.

            "Are you going to be alright? You're still pale…

            "I'm about as fine as I'm going to be." Kouji let his brother lead the way in. Neither one said anything. Then, it all came crashing down onto Kouji. It wasn't a dream. The bandages were real, the tubes were real, the cold touch of her unmoving hand was real. 

            Overcome with grief, he was going to be sick again. He covered his mouth and rushed to the bathroom. Kouichi followed soon after, and watched with concern as his brother finished. Kouji sat against the wall of the bathroom. "Three hours ago, she was in my room…" 

            "Kouji…"

            "Three hours ago we kissed for the first time… and now…" 

            Kouji welcomed his brother's comforting embrace, crying softly.

            Kouji sat slouching in a chair. "Should you tell the others now?" It was the only thing he had said since the bathroom incident earlier that night.

            Kouichi wanted more than anything to stay with him, but he knew when his brother was to be left alone. He stopped before leaving, and looked at Kouji. He was looking at nothing in particular, just off to the side. He looked no better than he had at school, and his pale face was tear-stained from earlier. Kouichi finally left.

            It was cold in the room. Kouji pulled another blanket from the closet and spread it over the bed, and pulled his chair up closer. Broken ribs, internal bleeding, a concussion; he didn't know what to do. He laid the side of his head on the bed and held back threatening tears. He lightly fingered her deathly pale face. So pale, that the bed sheets almost seemed to be darker than her…

            Takuya picked at a blade of grass outside the hospital. Kouichi had called him in the very early morning. In fact, it was still pitch black when he first got to the hospital. He tossed aside the plucked blade of grass and went back into the waiting room. He sat by the one closest to the door, Kouichi. Kouji was asleep in the corner, and Izumi was also there. Junpei and Tomoki would be coming as soon as they could. 

Yuki had been in surgery for the past hour.

            "Kouji doesn't look any better than yesterday…" Takuya kicked at the dark blue carpeting.

            "He won't go home to rest. And I'm not going to be the one to make him." Kouichi looked calm, but Takuya could tell that he was still hurting. Yuki was his best friend. Where one went, the other followed. Until now…

            Takuya yawned, and looked to the corner of the room. Kouji was almost pitiful… Which was polar opposite to the strong-willed child of Light that he usually was. His face was pale and tearstained, and there were bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in ages. He hadn't even bothered to put up his hair; it hung disheveled about his shoulders. He stirred, and got up to use the bathroom.

            "I know Yuki is his friend, but… I've never seen him this bad before."

            Kouichi bit his lip. He hadn't mentioned that to them yet, because he didn't want to bring it up in front of his brother. Right then was the best chance that he would have.

            "Yuki is his girlfriend…"

            "Since when?" Izumi asked for everyone.

            "Only as of last night, when she took him his homework. That was when Kouji said they had kissed…" His eyes began to water. "…Then three hours after that was when I called Kouji… to tell him that…" Takuya tried to comfort Kouichi, but he refused. "Nothing against you, but Kouji's had it bad enough already…" He quickly wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve. "I don't want my own crying to get him started up again…" Kouichi put on a somewhat in-control face and waved out the window. "It looks like Junpei is here with Tomoki."

            After much persuasion Kouichi had his brother walking outside with him. Kouji had been spending too much time indoors, and badly needed a breath of fresh air. Besides, everyone else was taking their turns seeing Yuki. 

            "You know, it was really something…"

            Kouji stared at the sidewalk as his brother spoke to him. He wanted to be inside…

            "I've never seen Mom and Dad in the same room before…"

            Kouji looked up. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" 

            After they had walked once around the hospital, they went back in, and passed Yuki's parents on the way up to her room.

            Now, it was Kouichi's turn to sleep. He was curled up in a chair, on the other side of the bed. Kouji checked to make sure that no one else was in the room, before he tenderly held Yuki's hand with his own.

            "I don't know if you can hear me or not… but… the whole gang is here. Even Tomoki. Ever since you saved that kid's life, he's sort of looked up to you… Yeah… Takuya and the others won't go to school until they know you're okay." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "They all need you to wake up…" Kouichi stirred a bit. "…I… need you to wake up…" He allowed his tears to once again flow freely down his cheeks.

            Then it happened. Kouji watched with renewed hoped as Yuki's pale hand weakly closed around his. Then, bit-by-bit, her violet eyes opened. She could not speak, on account of the breathing tube down her throat. So instead she cried.

            "Hey… you don't have to do that…" Kouji comforted her by stroking her cheek. She put her own hand up to meet his, and looked to the side to see Kouichi.

            "Kouichi… hey…" Kouji beckoned his brother to wake up. Kouichi did so, and after realizing what was going on, he too began to tear. 

            That was not the only thing he realized. "Hm… that must feel real nice…"

            Kouji and Yuki each grew red as they quickly pulled their hands away. Kouji sighed. "It's alright… He knows…"

            "Actually…" Kouichi hesitated. "Izumi and Taki know too…" He dreaded the moment that Yuki would be out of that bed. _Oh, I am sooo dead…_

            Yuki took in the deepest breath she possibly could. Her parents were on their way to pick her up, and the other kids were walking her out. "If there's any way of paying you guys back for staying there with me…"

            "Ah, don't mention it. That's what friends do, anyway." Takuya shook his head.

            "Speaking of payback, that reminds me…" Yuki pondered as she looked to her side. Kouichi uneasily backed away.

            Mr. and Mrs. Hiramana were just pulling into the hospital parking lot, when before them was the strangest sight. Mrs. Hiramana put a hand to her mouth, thinking it odd that Yuki should be throttling her best friend on the pavement…

**_~Owari~_****__**


End file.
